Port of Vigo achieves PERS certification

This is the third time that the port has achieved ESPO’s EcoPorts PERS certification, officially presented during the Green Energy Ports Conference in Vigo.

Sotiris Raptis, EcoPorts coordinator and senior advisor of ESPO, said: “We congratulate the Port of Vigo for obtaining its third PERS certificate during the 20th anniversary of the EcoPorts. We are celebrating 20 years of EcoPorts with the aim of further strengthening the network and of assisting more European ports to protect the environment, improve public health and address the challenges of climate change.”

PERS is the flagship product of the EcoPorts network, which the Port of Vigo joined in 2013, and is offered as part of the ESPO services to its members through the EcoPorts website. Compliance with the PERS standard is independently assessed by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance and the certificate has a validity of two years.

The Port of Vigo is located in the Cies Islands National Park, which includes five areas categorised as specially protected areas, requiring it to commit to a policy of strict environmental stewardship.

The port has various agreements for the free collection of port users’ waste as well as an agreement with fishing vessels to bring to the port all the waste they collect on their nets to be recycled.

The 3-R project – reduce, reuse and recycle, has been in place at the port for over a year. It allows for the recycling of plastic and polyethylene and was created in collaboration with the Waste Free Ocean Foundation (WFO).